Rumor: HTC and Facebook partnering to develop new phone

The HTC ChaCha and Salsa didn’t really take off like HTC had hoped, but that’s not stopping them from developing another Facebook phone. Digitimes is reporting that HTC and Facebook will be working together to create a new phone which could launch as early as Q3 of 2012. The device will be running on a platform exclusive to Facebook which should enable deeper Facebook integration into all facets of the device.

HTC’s previous attempt at creating a Facebook phone was a bit half-assed. The devices featured a dedicated Facebook button which allowed users to instantly share their music, location, or status update to Facebook, but the devices were extremely underpowered, sported horrible cameras and worked like any other Android phone.

There are many who despise the idea of a Facebook phone, but with nearly 1 billion Facebook users across the globe – we believe there could be a market for it. If HTC and Facebook want to succeed, they need to develop a top of the line handset which can compete in the crowded smartphone market and must deliver complete Facebook integration which uses your friends list as an address book, Facebook messaging as the default email client and Instagram as the default camera application.

I’d never buy a Facebook phone for myself, but I know a few dozen people who would ditch their iPhone in a heartbeat for one. What features does a Facebook phone need to make it appealing to the masses?

Tech enthusiast, Android user and founder of the first HTC blog – Nick Gray has been blogging about HTC phones before most people knew what a smartphone even was. Over the years Nick has owned and tested dozens HTC devices and is constantly flashing new ROMs to his Android phones.